How Do You Explain Such Improvement in Just Two Years?

[Volstylexx]

A lot of things already mentioned and some good ole fashioned luck. Talent, coaching, & facilities don't always = success. I live in Aggie country. Trust me on that one. I might also add.. nothing wrong with good luck. Last title we won involved a little luck that season also.

 

[johnsonbrewer]

Lot of HOF coaches have won a Natty in their 3rd year.

Year 1: Buy In
Year 2: Breakthrough
Year 3: Execution*

Bullet points distilled from a couple of very long articles on the subject.
*Probably need Year 2 Qb to also be Year 3 Qb

 

[BoonshillVol]

A real coach is pivotal plus damn good assistant coaches

 

[VFL-82-JP]

Portal Starters: Hooker, McCoy, Mincey, Turnage, Mitchell, Young. All are very important to our success and Hooker is critical. But, I think your other three reasons, are more important, especially (4).

Players drifted along under the previous regime but bought in, worked hard, and believed in their ability to succeed under this staff. Improvement in the OL, DL, and receiver position groups is really impressive.

And don't forget Chase McGrath. And our backup QB, as well. And we know the QB position (Hooker and Milton) has outsized importance to any team's success.

The portal filled a lot of holes for us. For that reason, I think it is just as big a contributor to our success as the other three. As more and more of the roster are Heupel recruits, the portal will fade in importance, but for now -- we wouldn't be where we are without it.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

A very down SEC helps

But is the SEC really that far down? Look at what some team records would be, if Tennessee weren't tearing through the ranks of the conference like a blue tick hound dog on the hunt:

UGa is 10-0
Bama would be 9-1
LSU would be 9-1
Ole Miss is 8-2
Kentucky and Florida would both be 7-3

Not even including us, that's half the conference that would be having a good to great year.

This may not be the SEC's strongest year, true. The SEC West's middle ground is uncommonly weak (A&M, Arky, Auburn), true. But the SEC as a whole is only looking weak this year because we're handing some of the key teams an extra L. Heh.

It's just them making room for us near the top.

Go Vols!

 

[VFL-82-JP]

Auburn went from worst to first not so long ago. If you've ever played or coached at a championship level looking back on it can seem like magic, all the pieces just seem to come together. You have to have talent but the chemistry also has to gel to make the product special.

Saban keeps trying to sell the idea it's a "process" and if you execute the process correctly what happens on the field takes care of itself. He's finding out this season that was BS. He used to have the most talent and they bulled their way through the season and often had great leadership that forced the chemistry to work.

I think Heupel may be on to something and have things figured out. Time will tell if he can keep his teams playing at these levels we've seen them do this year. BUT do not discount what having Hendon Hooker at QB has done for this team and means to this team. The same Hendon Hooker who Pruitt recruited and brought to Tennessee and stayed when Heupel was brought in and benched him for Milton. Hooker persevered and succeeded in spite of it.

I don't think this is analogous to that Auburn team, or the Joe Burrow years at LSU, or any other flash-in-the-pan success story.

Because I think Josh Heupel & Co are giving this resurgence legs. I think we're going to continue to have success year after year after year.

This isn't a magical alignment of all the planets. It is not the ingredients "coming together just right" by chance.

This success is deliberate. It came even faster than expected, but it was expected. Josh Heupel has been talking about his vision for the program from the day he came in. And he spoke with confidence, like a man who knows what the job is, and how to deliver.

And he's proving it.

And he's going to keep proving it for years--decades--to come.

The Florida and Georgia and Bama fans on these boards would like this all to be a magical one-time occurrence. Because if it were, then they could get back to beating the Vols every year.

But it's not. This magic is here to stay.

Go Vols!

 

[FLVOL_79]

I switched up my gameday drinking routine this year. I think that helped.

 

[FLVOL_79]

A very down SEC helps

4 SEC teams in the top 10 doesn't sound very down to me.

 

[rusty11]

Don't underestimate the Covid year and the transfer portal. Hooker is a blessing, but he's also like a professional player in that all he is here for is to play football since he's already graduated. Experience and maturity has made a huge difference with many of these players as well. Extra weight room time, extra playing time, extra time to study just football film for the upcoming opponents, and time to reflect and appreciate how lucky they are to be at UT now after all they've been through in their careers.

 

[robby487]

I feel entitled this weekend, can i take some of the credit?

 

[VFL-82-JP]

Don't underestimate the Covid year and the transfer portal. Hooker is a blessing, but he's also like a professional player in that all he is here for is to play football since he's already graduated. Experience and maturity has made a huge difference with many of these players as well. Extra weight room time, extra playing time, extra time to study just football film for the upcoming opponents, and time to reflect and appreciate how lucky they are to be at UT now after all they've been through in their careers.

It amazes me how long that single decision (to allow players a free year of eligibility because of Covid) will be with us.

A freshman, true freshman, arriving on campus in the summer of 2020, is the youngest possible beneficiary of the free year.

That freshman could--could--still be playing college football as a Covid senior in 2026 (requires a medical redshirt on top of normal redshirt, but still).

We could have "Covid seniors" as late as 2026. That boggles the mind. One decision, and it echoes for the better part of a decade.

 

[PineyBluff Vo]

We were 3-7 before Heupel was hired and we lost 25 or so players to transfers, some of them starters. I don't remember how Heupel's first recruiting classes were ranked but don't remember them being real high. We did get a great QB transfer in Hooker plus some others.

So is this success due to getting Hooker plus a few talented receivers plus a coach with a system/scheme that fit perfectly?

And, what will we look like with Hooker gone next year? If we are good next year then more credit to the coaching staff.

Coaching staffs be like...

 

[Raebo]

As far as next year is concerned I think there will be a slight step back to something like 8-4. But I think for the foreseeable future we will stay at or very near the upper echelons of the SEC.
With this coaching staff (and NIL) we should be able to recruit excellent QBs and that will attract other top recruits.

 

[orangemadam]

I want to see Jabari hit 150 yds without a shoulder forcing him out. Sampson come in with 75 yds.

 

[Dudleys87]

Culture flip
Coaching ability
And a system that is 100% designed to give the players the highest chance of success

 

[Volador]

How Do You Explain Such Improvement in Just Two Years?

Coaching staff.

Earlier this year, a fellow VNite appropriately labeled me a (former) Nega Vol. I took that to heart because following UT football has been painful since 1998. And for what it is worth, my focus has never been the players or the execution, for our former coaching staffs have just sucked the life out of Ktown for way too long.

Coach Heupel put together a team of coaches that many on this site doubted, and, probably for good reason. But, anyone complaining now about our DC? Linebacker coach? QB coach? These men have transformed the UT Football Program from perennial doormat to championship caliber in two years, so yes, I not only believe in miracles but, love, love, love witnessing it. This is historic, and God knows what the following years will bring us but, none of this happens without a knowledgeable, fearless and relentless coaching staff.

The culture of any well run organization/company/school/church/family/business comes from the top down, and Danny White deserves never ending credit for his insight on what Coach Heupel and his staff could do given the correct ingredients. Talent on the field, facilities, history, SEC, location and a ravenous fan base have all been an integral part of the success of our coaching staff but, make no mistake about it, the Coaching Staff is how you explain it.

Go Vols

 

[Otis1105]

But is the SEC really that far down? Look at what some team records would be, if Tennessee weren't tearing through the ranks of the conference like a blue tick hound dog on the hunt:

UGa is 10-0
Bama would be 9-1
LSU would be 9-1
Ole Miss is 8-2
Kentucky and Florida would both be 7-3

Not even including us, that's half the conference that would be having a good to great year.

This may not be the SEC's strongest year, true. The SEC West's middle ground is uncommonly weak (A&M, Arky, Auburn), true. But the SEC as a whole is only looking weak this year because we're handing some of the key teams an extra L. Heh.

It's just them making room for us near the top.

Go Vols!

Independent of the UT result all those teams are really bad or in bama and maybe lsu’s case just meh. A weak SEC has lifted all those teams records. There is no reason that lsu team and that ole miss team should have their respective records ole miss likely loses the egg bowl. And bama could have many more losses. Credit for winning but I think there are only 2 teams that are truly good. Depending on schedule a few of those teams may have the same record in the ACC. Lsu on the road vs Clemson and FSU and unc probably loses 2 of those.

 

[Otis1105]

4 SEC teams in the top 10 doesn't sound very down to me.

SEC bias. It’s not a good bama team, but everyone gets respect for beating them even if they are a shell of past years teams.

 

[Other_Guy]

Here's a question for the defenders of Tim Banks:
Why do we see such drastic improvement from the offense, from being below average to the best in CFB yet we aren't allowed to expect similar jumps from someone who has been a DC for 16 years? The defense, particularly the passing D, is going to likely cost them a title.
Hepuel brought guys like Hooker, Tillman, Hyatt, Keyton, and even Fant to new heights and the OL has developed into a group that can actually run the ball.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the defense is bad. Clearly the run D is really good and the passing D stats are going to be skewed a little with teams needing to play catch up... but if Heup can turn the offense into what it is, why can't we hold Banks to the same standard?

 

[9876543vol]

Here's a question for the defenders of Tim Banks:
Why do we see such drastic improvement from the offense, from being below average to the best in CFB yet we aren't allowed to expect similar jumps from someone who has been a DC for 16 years? The defense, particularly the passing D, is going to likely cost them a title.
Hepuel brought guys like Hooker, Tillman, Hyatt, Keyton, and even Fant to new heights and the OL has developed into a group that can actually run the ball.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the defense is bad. Clearly the run D is really good and the passing D stats are going to be skewed a little with teams needing to play catch up... but if Heup can turn the offense into what it is, why can't we hold Banks to the same standard?

If we lose the chance to win the national championship, it is mostly on the offense, our defense has never meant to be the strong part of our team, our offense was supposed to carry us to the promise land, I think our defense has been just fine, performing at the level it has been expected, you have no reason to crap on our defense. Our offense needs to play to its potential , if they do, we will be celebrating soon.

 

[9876543vol]

SEC bias. It’s not a good bama team, but everyone gets respect for beating them even if they are a shell of past years teams.

you are very wrong off course

 

[PowerT4me]

Having a coach that understands that kicking white boards on the sidelines isn’t the way to build up your players confidence.

 

[VolFanNC09]

It’s actually the culture. Our roster is slightly better than USCe based on recruiting rankings. Hooker, Hyatt, Tillman, and others worked all off-season to get better. They put in the work in other words and the coaches have a good offensive game plan each week.

It’s the difference with someone like Levis who has the arm talent, but didn’t do the work and the rest of the team didn’t either.

 

[cobbwebb0710]

1. Roster talent was better than we thought; it was disguised behind some god-awful coaching in previous years.
2. The Portal. Reflect on who we got from the portal the past two off-seasons. A lot of the names we shout on Saturdays, those are portal arrivals.
3. Heupel & Crew are no-joke next level genius at patterning the Xs and Os to make the absolute most of what the lads can do.
4. They are also incredibly talented leaders, who can mold extremely cohesive teams.

Think it's as simple as that.

1. Want to
Guys did not enjoy playing for Pruitt and did not want to give their all.
Plain and simple.
I’ve often thought, is there really that much of a difference in a player that is ranked .993 to one ranked .989?
Or a guy that runs a 4.6 compared to a guy that runs a 4.5?
Bench presses 225lbs, 20 times compared to 19?
Those measurables might be the difference in a game or two but certainly not a 6-7 or even 8 game swing.
It all comes down to motivation at the highest levels, imo.

 

[NighthawkVol]

But is the SEC really that far down? Look at what some team records would be, if Tennessee weren't tearing through the ranks of the conference like a blue tick hound dog on the hunt:

UGa is 10-0
Bama would be 9-1
LSU would be 9-1
Ole Miss is 8-2
Kentucky and Florida would both be 7-3

Not even including us, that's half the conference that would be having a good to great year.

This may not be the SEC's strongest year, true. The SEC West's middle ground is uncommonly weak (A&M, Arky, Auburn), true. But the SEC as a whole is only looking weak this year because we're handing some of the key teams an extra L. Heh.

It's just them making room for us near the top.

Go Vols!

Exactly. The Eeyor contingent in our fan base can't seem to acknowledge this. They said the same thing about our 90s run because certain programs were down. But while Bama was dominating, Tennessee was down. Florida was down for much of it. Hell, Missouri won the East back-to-back. Some programs are going to be ahead of others. That's the nature of the game. Tennessee being up means someone else is down and vice-versa.